PAVEL ZAHRADKA is Assistant Professor of Sociology and Philosophy at Palacky University Olomouc, Czech Republic. In 2010 and 2011 he taught philosophy as a Visiting Professor at the University of Münster. His main areas of focus are theory of consumer culture and philosophy of art. In 2010-2013 his research project on sociological criticism of aesthetic autonomy was founded by the Grant Agency of the Czech Republic (GACR). Currently he is member of the Scientific Advisory Board of the research project PolitCIGs: Die Kulturen der Zigarette und die Kulturen des Politischen (2013-2016) at the Friedrich-Schiller-University of Jena and a member of the research team Re-presenting the Past: New Methods of History Interpretations in arts and the Media at the Palacky University Olomouc (European Social Fund, 2012-2015). He is also an external collaborator of the research project Geschichtsaneignungen in der Mediengesellschaft at the Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg.

Books

Aesthetics at the Turn of Millenium, Principal & Barrister, 2011.

The book Aesthetics at the Turn of the Millennium presents nine selected topics of contemporary aesthetics. They are the definition of art, ontology of art, the value of art, art and forgery, high versus popular art, art and ideology, art and copyright law, environmental aesthetics, and feminist aesthetics. Its goal is to introduce readers to these problem areas of philosophical aesthetics and acquaint them with the solutions offered by these as well as their respective approaches and appropriate terminology. This goal is achieved primarily through original survey texts included as an introduction to each of the nine chapters. Each of these are followed by two carefully selected studies, the authors of which – representing both the Anglo-American analytical and continental philosophical traditions – often take on the polemical problems from diverging positions. The studies included should thereby provide readers not only with an immediate overview of the current discussions, but also lead them to critical reflection on the problem and to develop their own positions.

New Perspectives on Consumer Culture Theory and Research, Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012

Publication New Perspectives on Consumer Culture and Research is dedicated to the exploration of three areas of consumer culture: research on consumer culture and consumer behaviour in post-socialist countries, new developments in the theory of consumer culture and innovative methodological approaches to its research and, finally, to recent criticism of consumer culture and consumerism. It emerged from the collaboration of a team of authors made up of leading European researchers in the field of consumer culture, such as Kate Soper (London Metropolitan University), Franz Liebl (Berlin University of the Arts) and Rainer Gries (University of Vienna), as well as promising young scholars from the Czech Republic, Great Britain, Sweden, Serbia, Poland and Portugal. This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of sociology, cultural studies, marketing and market research.¨

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The goal of the book High versus Low Art is a systematical inquiry about the conceptual difference between high and popular art, which is directed to the question, on which grounds does this difference operate. There are in principle two different theoretical approaches to the problem in question, which bring two different solutions: the aesthetical one or the sociological one. While some aestheticians (Theodor Adorno, Max Horkheimer, Abraham Kaplan, Clement Greenberg, Dwight Macdonald) believe, that the difference between high and popular art consists in different aesthetical qualities of both types of artworks, sociological oriented authors (Pierre Bourdieu, Lawrence Levine, David Novitz) assume, that the distinction is a man-made social construction, which does not reflect any differences in aesthetical qualities of artworks, but serves to reproduction and legitimization of the social inequalities. The goal of the work is an explanation and critical evaluation of both aesthetical and sociological solutions of the problem.

Academic Papers

„Pojem umění v analytické estetice“ in: Aluze 2-3 (2004), 155–174.

„Copyright & Art. Aesthetical, Legal, Ontological, and Political Issues“ in: Aluze 2 (2005), 185–188.

„David Novitz, filozofie umění a hry na hrdiny“ in: Aluze 1 (2006), 132–133.

„Muss man in der Ästhetik Anarchist sein? Karlheinz Lüdeking im Gespräch mit Pavel Zahrádka“ in: Zeitschrift für Ästhetik und Allgemeine Kunstwissenschaft, 52/2 (2007), 245–259.

„Je třeba být v estetice anarchistou?“ in: Aluze 1 (2007), 14–23.

„Mýtus o mýtu krásy“ in: Aluze 2 (2008), 117–126.

„Já a David Bowie“ in: Aluze 1 (2009), 101–105.

„Může spotřební kultura nahradit vysokou kulturu?“ in: Aluze 2 (2009), 26–34.

„Wolfgang Ullrich im Gespräch mit Pavel Zahrádka: Kann die Hochkultur durch die Konsumkultur ersetzt werden?“ in: Zeitschrift für Ästhetik und allgemeine Kunstwissenschaft 1 (2010), 140–155.

„Současná problematika vysokého a masového umění“ in: Jiří Šubrt (ed.): Soudobá sociologie IV. Praha: Karolinum, 2010, 207–232.

„Definice umění“ in: Pavel Zahrádka (ed.): Estetika na přelomu milénia: vybrané problémy současné estetiky. Brno: Barrister & Principal, 2011, 15–38.

„Theory and Research on Consumer Culture in the Czech Republic before and after 1989“ in: P. Zahrádka – R. Sedláková (eds): New Perspectives on Consumer Culture Theory and Research. New Castle: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2012, 12–38.

„Babovřesky a sociologie komerčního úspěchu: Proč má většinové publikum tak špatný vkus? “ in: Aluze 3 (2012), 92-94.

„Sociologická kritika filozofické estetiky“ in: Filosofický časopis 3 (2013), 349-370.

„A Critique of Aesthetic Hierarchism and its Consequences for Art Theory, Art Criticism and Aesthetic Axiology“ In: F. Dorsch - D. Ratiu (eds): 5th Proceedings of European Society for Aesthetics, 2013, 576–596.

„Kritika estetického hierarchismu a její důsledky pro teorii umění, uměleckou kritiku a estetickou axiologii“ In: Slovo a smysl  20 (2013), 15–28.

Interviews

„Jsem skeptický vůči ohlašování krize či konce umění“ in: Deník Referendum (23/10/2010).

„Mít je být: nové směry zkoumání kritiky spotřební kultury, výzkumu trhu a marketingové komunikace“ in: Aluze 3 (2012), 14-19.

Researchgate profile

Current projects

2012 – 2013 Consumer Culture Theory and Research (funded by internal grant agency of Palacky University Olomouc)
2012 – 2014 Persecution, Exclusion and Toleration of Non-traditional Religious Minorities: the Case of Czech Buddhism and Unification Church Before and After 1989 (funded by internal grant agency of Palacky University Olomouc)

Publications

„Kreativní třída“ v kritické optice Bourdieuho teorie (“Creative Class” in the Critical Perspective of Bourdieu’s Theory) in: Konstrukt 6 (2011), available from: [http://www.konstruktmag.cz/%E2%80%9Ekreativni-trida%E2%80%9C-v-kriticke-optice-bourdieuho-teorie/].

The conference Consumer Culture: Between Aesthetics, Social Distinction and Ecological Activism was held on 7–9 October 2010 on the premises of the Arts Center of the Faculty of Arts of Palacky University in Olomouc. The event took place under the auspices of The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic and it was also an official part of the European Year for Combating Poverty and Social Exclusion (EY2010).

The goal of the conference was to create a counterbalance to the “science in the shadows”, overcome the mutual distrust between the academic and commercial spheres and make possible the transfer of recent developments between the two parties. That is why the conference organizers invited not only leading European academic researchers from diverse disciplines, but also representatives from the commercial sector who deal with research, production and innovation in consumer culture. This allowed for the confrontation of two previously separate and distinct discourses and perspectives.

Guests

Wolfgang Ullrich, Karlsruhe University of Arts and Design
Kate Soper, London Metropolitan University
Rainer Gries, University of Vienna
Jaroslav Cír, Perfect Crowd Prague
Søren Askegaard, University of Southern Denmark
Moritz Gekeler, HPI School of Design Thinking, Potsdam
Franz Liebl, Berlin University of the Arts
Kai-Uwe Hellmann, Berlin Institute of Technology

Organizers

Pavel Zahrádka, Palacký University
Renáta Sedláková, Palacký University
Veronika Kubová, Palacký University
Jaroslav Cír, Perfect Crowd
Zuzana Chytková, University of Pisa

Photos

Day 1
Day 2
Day 3

Conference program
Conference website

Contents

Origins of Consumer Culture
Jan Kalenda / Palacký University Olomouc

History of Market Research
Hartmut Berghoff / German Historical Institute Washington

Consumption and Social Distinction
Roberta Sassatelli / University of Milan

Marketing Communication and Culture
Franz Liebl / Berlin University of the Arts

Sociology of Branding
Kai Uwe Hellmann / Berlin Institute of Technology

Aesthetics of Consumer Culture
Pavel Zahrádka / Palacký University Olomouc

Theory of Advertising
York Kautt / University Giessen

Theory of Shopping
Daniel Miller / University College London

Critique of Consumer Society
Joseph Heath / University of Toronto

Alternative Hedonism and Voluntary Modesty
Kate Soper / London Metropolitan University
Martin Fafejta / UP Olomouc

Moralization of the Market
Nico Stehr / Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen
Marian Adolf / Zeppelin University Friedrichshafen

The Effects of Advertising and the Skeptical Consumer
Jörg Matthes / University of Vienna

New Trends in Consumer Culture Research
Rainer Gries / University of Vienna

ready
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The collective monograph New Perspectives on Consumer Culture Theory and Research follows the international conference Consumer Culture: Between Aesthetics, Social Distinction and Ecological Activism held at Palacky University in Olomouc (7 – 9 October 2010) and comprises the most interesting and valuable conference contributions covering three thematic areas: (i) Consumer Culture in Post-socialist Countries, (ii) New Prospects on Consumer Culture Research, (iii) Consumer Culture Critique. The book was prepared by Pavel Zahrádka and Renáta Sedláková (editors) and Steven Schwartzhoff (translator and proofreader). Among the authors are not only leading or young European academic researchers from diverse disciplines, but also representatives from the commercial sector who deal with research, production and innovation in consumer culture. The book will be published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing in December 2012.

Contents

Introduction
Pavel Zahrádka and Renáta Sedláková / Palacký University

Part I: Consumer Culture in the Post-socialist Countries

Theory and Research on Consumer Culture in the Czech Republic before and after 1989
Pavel Zahrádka and Renáta Sedláková / Palacký University

Understanding the Meaning of Consumption in Everyday Lives of “Mainstream” Youth in the Czech Republic
Michaela Hráčková Pyšňáková / Omnicom Media Group

Sustainability and the “Urban Peasant”: Rethinking the Cultural Politics of Food Self-provisioning in the Czech Republic
Petr Jehlička and Joe Smith / Open University

Multiplexes as the Limes of “Global Hollywood”
Marcin Adamczak / Adam Mickiewicz’s University

Part II: New Prospects on Consumer Culture Research

A Strategic Approach to Customer Orientation
Franz Liebl / Berlin University of the Arts

Mass Intelligence and the Commoditized Reader
Ivana Uspenski / PHD Media Agency

Grey Is Gorgeous: On Dove’s Campaign for Real Beauty Targeting Older Consumers
Karin Lövgren / Umeå University

Life Satisfaction: Impulsive Buying Behavior and Gender
Samuel Lincoln Bezerra Lins / University of Porto

Part III: Critique of Consumer Culture

Beyond Consumerism: the Critique of Consumption, Democracy, and the Politics of Prosperity
Kate Soper / London Metropolitan University

The Historicity of Brands: Inter-generational Production of Structural Sustainability
Rainer Gries / University of Vienna

Critical Marketing, Consumption Studies and Political Economic Analysis
Alan Bradshaw / University of London

Subversive Use of Things: Craftsman Creativity as a Criticism of Consumer Culture?
Agata Skórzyńska / Adam Mickiewicz University